Grand and Humble by Brent Hartinger

"And inside his head, he was suddenly in a different place and time. A city street at night? A truck--or was it a van?--was bearing down on Harlan. He could see the expanding headlights, could watch the vehicle veering to one side as the driver tried to swerve away at the last second.
It was too late."

Manny has been dreaming, lately...about drowning. The dreams are terrifying, puzzling, and very real. Harlan's been having inexplicable panic attacks. Two boys from different worlds, Manny is an unassuming geek while Harlan is the popular son of a local politician. Both boys are startled by the sudden onset of their nightmares and anxiety, and puzzled by the cause. Hartinger spins an unusual tale in this brief thriller.

SLJ recommends grades 9 and up.

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

What are You Afraid of? Stories about phobias editted by Donald R. Gallo

"Phoebe knelt and held out her hand. But instead of going up to her, the creature padded toward me. As I stood there, trying to decide what to do, he put both his front paws on my leg, stretched, and extended he claws. He stared at me with the cold eyes of a serial killer."

Are you afraid of small spaces (claustrophobia)? How about large spaces (agoraphobia)? Knives (aichmophobia)? Cats (elurophobia)? String (linonophobia)? Everything (panophobia)?!? Everyone is afraid of something! And in 10 short stories written by 10 different authors you can read about some of them. Reading about Will's fear of clowns, will certainly make you feel better about the little terrors that plague your own life! And reading a collection of short stories is always a great way to discover new authors.

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

SLJ recommends grades 6 to 9.

All Rivers Flow to the Sea by Alison McGhee

"Because Ivy and I had an accident. It was the end of the winter, dusk in Adirondacks, and we came around a curve. And then Ivy wasn't moving, and she wasn't answering, and was she breathing? Blood. My window was broken and I broke it more. I punched it with my jacket wrapped around my hand, punched and punched, and I crawled out and fell up. We were upside down? How had that happened? I ran."

Rose and Ivy were in a car accident. Ivy now lies in a vegetative state in a nursing home. Rose must cope with survivor's guilt, her mother's growing distance, and the fact that half of herself, her sister Ivy, won't ever return. Rose is still water, trapped behind a dam, and all she wants is to flow to the sea.

Alison McGhee lyrically, yet succinctly, tells the story of one girl's healing process.

(McGhee is the author of several novels for adults, several novels for teens, and one of my favorite picture books, "Countdown to Kindergarten".)

Learn more at HCL, Amazon, and here.

Subjects: Sisters, Traffic Accidents, First Love, Death, Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.)

(SLJ recommends this for 9 & up.)